Yet another Amtrak service goes TALGO... This time, it's the Chicago-Milwaukee Hiawatha, formerly operated by the Milwaukee Road Railway pre-Nationalization.
MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin has agreed to a $47 million deal with Spanish train manufacturer Talgo for two 14-car passenger trains to run between Milwaukee and Chicago, Gov. Jim Doyle announced Friday.
The cars will replace aging cars on the existing Amtrak Hiawatha Service line between the two cities. The deal calls for Talgo to set up an assembly plant in Wisconsin that could serve as a hub as the company expands throughout the Midwest. It also includes an option for the state to buy two more Talgo trains.
Doyle, a Democrat, praised the agreement as the beginning of high-speed rail in the state.
"Today is the day where we're going to mark the beginning of a beautiful friendship," Doyle said at a news conference at the Dane County Regional Airport flanked by smiling Talgo executives.
Talgo's parent company, Patentes Talgo, builds high-speed trains used in countries across Europe, including Spain, Germany, Kazakhstan and Bosnia. Talgo runs five trains in the state of Washington with a headquarters and maintenance facility in Seattle. Doyle visited Spain in February to meet with company officials and rode their trains around the country.
Wisconsin and Illinois pay for the Amtrak line between Milwaukee and Chicago. Last year the two states paid about $7 million to run it, with Amtrak supplying the equipment and acting essentially as a contractor. More than 765,000 people rode the line last year, according to the governor's office.
State officials hope to replace the existing cars with Talgo cars by 2011. Money for the new cars will come from bonding authority included in the last three state budgets, Doyle said.
"We've planned for this," Doyle said.
Each train will seat 420 people, up from the current 350 per train capacity.
The trains wouldn't be high-speed; Amtrak engines would continue to pull the trains at the line's current speed of 79 mph. The state Department of Transportation hopes to upgrade to 110 mph sometime in the future, agency Secretary Frank Busalacchi said.
The parts for the train would be built in Spain but assembled in Wisconsin. Talgo officials have been scouting around south-central Wisconsin for a plant site. Doyle said the facility, which also will provide maintenance for the cars, could employ about 80 people.
Antonio Perez, CEO and president of Talgo's U.S. operations, said he visited the shuttered General Motors plant in Janesville and said the factory has "potential," but the company doesn't expect to make a decision for at least six to nine months. GM closed the plant in April, putting about 1,200 people out of work.
State Republican Party Executive Director Mark Jefferson issued a statement criticizing Doyle for putting the state another $47 million in debt "to create 80 jobs and posh seating on the train in Southeast Wisconsin."
"Eighty new jobs is a couple hours worth of damage control for Doyle's policies that have driven jobs out of the state," Jefferson said.
State figures released this week show the state has lost 123,000 jobs over the last year.
Doyle defended the agreement, saying the state was going to have to replace the Hiawatha cars anyway. Perez said the facility could serve as a regional assembly and maintenance hub as Talgo expands into other Midwestern states, creating more jobs.
Jose Maria Oriol, CEO and president of Patentes Talgo, called the Milwaukee-to-Chicago deal the first step toward that expansion.
"We have looked to the U.S. market as one of our main targets," he said. "Now we can say the dream in the Midwest has become a reality."
Doyle wants to eventually expand the Milwaukee-Chicago line to Madison and then on to St. Paul. The governor said if the state gets a large enough share of $8 billion in federal transportation recovery money work could begin on the Madison leg within four years. The state then would exercise its option for the two additional Talgo trains, he said.
I wonder what the paint scheme on the Midwestern Talgos would look like and whether they'd stick with P42s or use a few streamlined F59PHIs. Just imagine what a few talgos in phase V would look like
MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin has agreed to a $47 million deal with Spanish train manufacturer Talgo for two 14-car passenger trains to run between Milwaukee and Chicago, Gov. Jim Doyle announced Friday.
The cars will replace aging cars on the existing Amtrak Hiawatha Service line between the two cities. The deal calls for Talgo to set up an assembly plant in Wisconsin that could serve as a hub as the company expands throughout the Midwest. It also includes an option for the state to buy two more Talgo trains.
Doyle, a Democrat, praised the agreement as the beginning of high-speed rail in the state.
"Today is the day where we're going to mark the beginning of a beautiful friendship," Doyle said at a news conference at the Dane County Regional Airport flanked by smiling Talgo executives.
Talgo's parent company, Patentes Talgo, builds high-speed trains used in countries across Europe, including Spain, Germany, Kazakhstan and Bosnia. Talgo runs five trains in the state of Washington with a headquarters and maintenance facility in Seattle. Doyle visited Spain in February to meet with company officials and rode their trains around the country.
Wisconsin and Illinois pay for the Amtrak line between Milwaukee and Chicago. Last year the two states paid about $7 million to run it, with Amtrak supplying the equipment and acting essentially as a contractor. More than 765,000 people rode the line last year, according to the governor's office.
State officials hope to replace the existing cars with Talgo cars by 2011. Money for the new cars will come from bonding authority included in the last three state budgets, Doyle said.
"We've planned for this," Doyle said.
Each train will seat 420 people, up from the current 350 per train capacity.
The trains wouldn't be high-speed; Amtrak engines would continue to pull the trains at the line's current speed of 79 mph. The state Department of Transportation hopes to upgrade to 110 mph sometime in the future, agency Secretary Frank Busalacchi said.
The parts for the train would be built in Spain but assembled in Wisconsin. Talgo officials have been scouting around south-central Wisconsin for a plant site. Doyle said the facility, which also will provide maintenance for the cars, could employ about 80 people.
Antonio Perez, CEO and president of Talgo's U.S. operations, said he visited the shuttered General Motors plant in Janesville and said the factory has "potential," but the company doesn't expect to make a decision for at least six to nine months. GM closed the plant in April, putting about 1,200 people out of work.
State Republican Party Executive Director Mark Jefferson issued a statement criticizing Doyle for putting the state another $47 million in debt "to create 80 jobs and posh seating on the train in Southeast Wisconsin."
"Eighty new jobs is a couple hours worth of damage control for Doyle's policies that have driven jobs out of the state," Jefferson said.
State figures released this week show the state has lost 123,000 jobs over the last year.
Doyle defended the agreement, saying the state was going to have to replace the Hiawatha cars anyway. Perez said the facility could serve as a regional assembly and maintenance hub as Talgo expands into other Midwestern states, creating more jobs.
Jose Maria Oriol, CEO and president of Patentes Talgo, called the Milwaukee-to-Chicago deal the first step toward that expansion.
"We have looked to the U.S. market as one of our main targets," he said. "Now we can say the dream in the Midwest has become a reality."
Doyle wants to eventually expand the Milwaukee-Chicago line to Madison and then on to St. Paul. The governor said if the state gets a large enough share of $8 billion in federal transportation recovery money work could begin on the Madison leg within four years. The state then would exercise its option for the two additional Talgo trains, he said.
I wonder what the paint scheme on the Midwestern Talgos would look like and whether they'd stick with P42s or use a few streamlined F59PHIs. Just imagine what a few talgos in phase V would look like
